Wireless communication networks typically include wireless access systems with equipment such as wireless access, control, and routing nodes that provide wireless communication services for wireless communication devices. A typical wireless communication network includes systems to provide wireless access across a geographic region, with wireless coverage areas associated with individual wireless access nodes. The wireless access systems exchange user communications between wireless communication devices, service providers, and other end user devices. These user communications typically include voice calls, data exchanges, web pages, streaming media, or text messages, among other communication services.
In some Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems, wireless communication devices may provide power headroom (PHR) notifications to LTE access nodes, which indicate how much relative power is left to transmit data in addition to the power being used in the current transmission. These notifications are transferred from the devices over intervals specified by the LTE access node, wherein the LTE access node can dictate periodic intervals for the transmission of the PHR notifications and/or PHR prohibit timers that specify the minimum number of packets that must be transmitted between PHR notifications. However, although the LTE access node may specify the intervals at which devices may transmit PHR notifications, current LTE access nodes are incapable of dynamically providing PHR interval rules based on network conditions.
Overview
The technology disclosed herein enhances the ability of Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks to dynamically modify power headroom (PHR) prohibit timers. In one implementation, a method of operating a LTE access node to dynamically modify PHR prohibit timers includes receiving wireless signals from a plurality of wireless communication devices using a first PHR prohibit timer, wherein the plurality of wireless communication devices comprises one or more device to device (D2D) communication groups. The method further provides determining a signaling load for the plurality of wireless communication devices, and determining whether the signaling load meets signaling criteria. If the signaling load meets the signaling criteria, the method also includes identifying a second PHR prohibit timer, wherein the second PHR prohibit timer is higher than the first PHR prohibit timer. The method further provides, if the signaling load meets the signaling criteria, receiving network access requests from a second plurality of wireless communication devices and providing the second plurality of wireless communication devices with the second PHR prohibit timer, wherein the second plurality of wireless communication devices comprises one or more additional D2D communication groups.